Saturday, November 20, 2010

Propelled by the Spirit

"You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives lifebecause of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because ofhis Spirit who lives in you." Romans 8:9-11

Yesterday I missed prayer time. Usually I start the day with a sentence prayer as I get up, and then I pray on the way to work during commute, and then sometimes I will say short prayers throughout the day, just talking to my Father about things, or at the very least, prayers of confession after I hurl bad thoughts at unsuspecting drivers who cut me off. But yesterday, I didn't really have a conscious prayer time.

I missed it.

I read a very touching poem that stayed with me all afternoon. You can read it here

Still in reflection after the poem, I walked down to our cafe here at work. My thoughts were on hungry children as I walked past bins of fruit that we get here free for the taking. I envisioned myself handing every last one to little outstretched hands. I saw the beans that collect the excess drips from the Starbucks coffee carafes, and thought of parents who would give anything for those beans to feed their families. I saw the squash that we use as ornaments on the counters. Then I went outside and fed our stray cat, one of several that our company has adopted because people carelessly dump them off in the parking lot, or move and leave them behind.....Even the cat food has more nutrition than what some kids get in a week. I was mulling it all over.....why do we have so much and they so little?

I got home. I felt the Spirit leading me out to my little prayer shed but I really wasn't in sync for it. I thought, "I usually don't pray now, this is not what I do, I am a morning prayer person. Evenings are for catching the news of the day, maybe some computer time, dinner.....but the feeling wouldn't go away. The Spirit said, go....

I went, I lit my 6 inch Christmas tree, (yes, already) and my lamp....I prayed, and I was blessed. I am so glad I did......I am glad I listened. My flesh was saying no, but the Spirit in me was saying, yes. The Spirit is always right.....thank you Lord, again.

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Oh Lori, what a wonderful post. I was just browsing through my blogroll and stopped when I caught the first few words ... Romans 8 is one of my favorite chapters, and I especially loved the way it's phrased here. What translation did you get it from?

And then as I kept reading I kept nodding ... I too missed out on my normal prayer time yesterday morning. I actually missed today as well because I overslept and had to rush to get to a wedding ... and in the middle of the reception as I sat at my table I suddenly thought "Something is terribly wrong! Why am I feeling so out of sorts?" ... it only took me a moment to realize that I was starving for my time with God.

So right there in the middle of a wedding I found a quiet corner to spend a few minutes alone with my Father ...

That is what its all about! Continual prayer....so glad you were blessed by it. That is when you know that the rhythm of prayer has become a part of your life that you could not imagine being without! Lori